


Two Sides of A Coin

by MiniRaven



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, F/M, Ficlet, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Post Season 3, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21569719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniRaven/pseuds/MiniRaven
Summary: Rayla steals back Viren’s bag of magic coins and finds some very dear friends trapped inside. But Runaan makes an impossible request and Rayla’s not sure how to answer. Thankfully, Callum does.orEthari reuniting with his husband, Runaan, who is still trapped in the coin.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Runaan/Tinker | Necklace Elf (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 524





	Two Sides of A Coin

**Author's Note:**

> I finished Season 3 a few days ago and this plot bunny would just. not. go. away. and it needed to get written/ published. So I'm posting it up before I have time to regret any decisions.
> 
> This fic is not beta read so pleas forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'll try to correct them if I catch them.

When Rayla gets her hands on Viren’s bag of coins, the first one she pulls out is Runaan’s. She tears up when she sees his face and apologizes over and over again for failing him. Runaan smiles, just happy to see her again and places his hand against the surface of his prison.

Rayla is so caught up in relief that she doesn’t understand why Callum offers her two more coins from the bag. They’re empty save for a stolen image of the Dragon Queen’s lair, and that’s when Rayla realizes she can’t see what Callum sees. These coins contain the spirit of her parents. Since the entire village ghosted them, Rayla is unable to see the relief and pride on her parent’s face as they look up at their little girl for the first time in years. She’s unable to read their lips as they tell her how happy they are to see her. How proud they are of what she’s become.

And it’s in this moment this moment that Rayla fully understands the weight of being ghosted and why Ethari cast the counter spell. Knowing someone you love is so close and yet so far away, it’s heart breaking. And it only strengths Rayla’s resolve to right all the wrongs that have been done because of Viren’s dark magic. All of them.

But despite the small assembly of mages in their army, no one knows how to break the spell of dark magic that traps Viren’s former prisoners. Callum is working day and night to find a solution, but he only knows so much magic and the weight of war doesn’t help his time management.

Until then, he and Ezrin take turns teaching the trapped elves sign language so they can communicate. They teach the elves a basic alphabet and before they can move on to common phrases like “friend,” “hello,” and “how are you” the elves drag them into a wave of spelling games. Callum calls it a tsunami of information. The trapped elves aggressively spell out clues that Viren left about his plans, information that could be useful in the upcoming battle, and messages for loved ones they desperately hope are still alive. Rayla’s parents are no exception. Talking through Callum, they tell her how much they love her, how proud they are of what she has done, and why is this human mage so close to you? He’s quite cute for a human, don’t you think, Rayla. Ralya, don’t walk away from this conversation. We’re your parents. We need to talk about this. Rayla? Rayla!

Runaan is the hardest to talk to. Not because of what he as to say, but what he asks Rayla every time she looks at his coin.

“Ethari. I want Ethari.”

And Rayla doesn’t have the heart to tell him that it’s impossible. She can’t. She’s no longer welcomed in Silvergrove. No one in the village will acknowledge or accept and messages from her. And if she can’t go home, then neither can Runana.

But Callum doesn’t give up. He secretly convinces Janai to send a messenger arrow to Ethari on behalf of Rayla. It’s not a long message. There’s only so much that can fit on tiny piece of parchment. But he hopes it’s enough.

And at moonrise the next night, an arrow embeds itself into a door and Ethari reads the four most important words he has ever seen in his life.

“Your husband is alive.”

* * *

Ethari heads to the front immediately, carrying only a few supplies in his bag. Speed is of the essence now, as he has no idea how his husband is alive or how long Runaan will continue to draw breath.

He finds the camp easily. Sunfire Elves are not a fan of the dark after all, and proceeds to ask anyone who will listen if they’ve seen his husband. The elves shake their heads “no” but the human troops are surprisingly helpful. They haven’t seen his husband, but there’s a Moonshadow Elf that might be able to help him.

They take him to the War Tent and Ethari prepares for the worst. He pushes open the flaps and inside is a group of strange and unfamiliar faces. A mix of elves and humans gather around the war table, but there is one face he does recognize. The “Earthblood Elf” Callum.

Callum looks up from the map Xadian map and his face lights up like the moon. He elbows the empty air next to him and gestures to Ethari. Ethari feels the air in the tent change and he knows his precious Rayla is looking at him.

He hears the clattering of tables and chairs being pushed aside as she runs to him. He feels her energy dancing around him as she excitedly tells him everything that’s happened; about how humans, dragons, and Sunfire Elves united for the first time in centuries, all to protect the Dragon Queen. He sees the smiles on the other’s faces as they watch the happy reunion, and not for the first time, Ethari wishes he had broken the ghosting spell earlier.

Callum calms the silence by placing a hand on the invisible Rayla. He whispers something in her ear and holds his hand out, as if asking for something. Ethari hears the clink of coins clacking together and then sees a makeshift pendent appear in Callum’s hand.

It’s crude and lacking proper craftsmanship, as if made in a rush. A single coin hangs in the middle of a leather string, radiating so much dark magic that even Ethari worries about touching the cursed object.

But Callum insists. He offers the coin to Ethari, and there’s a small smile on his face and says, “Your husband’s been asking for you.” And that’s all Ethari needs to hear to reach out and take the coin.

The back of the coin is unassuming at best, depressing at worst. It a stolen image of a dungeon; dark and dreary with chains older and colder than Ethari would like to imagine. It makes him shudder, thinking about his husband trapped in such a cruel place. But when he turns the coin over, all of his fears melt away leaving only relief in their wake.

His horn is broken and his cheek is bruised, but his eyes, Runaan’s eyes are just as blue and beautiful as they day they both swore themselves to each other. From inside the coin, Runaan smiles at his husband and Ethari’s legs turn to water. He collapses on the ground. Tears flow down his face as he holds his tiny husband in the palm of his hand. His tiny but alive husband who mouths “I love you,” has he presses his palm against the coin’s surface.

Callum comes over and presses a comforting on his shoulder while Ethari can feel Rayla pressing up against his side, her own tears dripping down his neck even though he can’t see them. The others gather around and offer him a pat on the back or an encouraging word.

“Congratulations,” “I’m so glad you found each other,” and “We’ll figure out how to break the spell soon.”

But right now, Ethari doesn’t care. He’s just happy to be reunited with his one true love. His husband. His heart. His Runaan.

* * *

The war trudges on. Viren seems like less a threat now that Aavaros has returned to power. The days are dark and the moon is gone, but Ethari holds on to hope. He’s crafted a new necklace for the pendant. A home for his husband to hang around his neck, and horn ornaments for Rayla so she can keep her parents close. He supplies the army with as many weapons as he can forge in a day, and works tirelessly through the night, trying to find a way to dispel the dark magic holding their loved ones captive. It’s not easy work and on more than one occasion he has to convince other Moonshadow Elves that getting involved with humans _is_ in fact the best thing for Xadia. But having Runaan close to his heart, having his husband mouth encouragements and sign “I love you,” before Ethari passes out from exhaustion, it’s all worth it.


End file.
